ADI SHANKARACHARYA : THE BHASYA & TEACHINGS | Adi Shankara | There is neither you , nor me , nor the world , to those whose minds are immersed in HARI , Who is Fuller than the full , Who is Higher than even the highest , Whose furthest limit is unknown , Who is the vast ocean of nectar in the form of Pure Consciousness devoid of waves , undulations and the like , Who has the splendour of the very bright quarters and the sky in which have appeared ten million suns , Whose One essence is innate Bliss , Who is the Supreme Spirit .

THE SUPPORTIVE TEACHINGS

There is a famous saying in the Yoga-Vasishtha * , which is an instruction given by the great sage Vasishtha to the student Rama : " Dvau krumuu chitta nasasya , yoga jnanam cha Raghav " .

The sage says :

" There are two ways of controlling the mind . Either sever its connection with all things , or establish a connection of it with everything " .

These are the two ways by which one can control the mind . It is easy to understand something about the benefits that would follow from the withdrawal of the mind from all things . But , it is not so easy to know the advantage of connecting the mind to everything .

The result , however is the same in either case .

There is an anecdote about Acharya Sankara which is relevant here .

It is said that Acharya Sankara was in the Kutir , and the door was bolted from within . One of the disciples came and knocked .

" Who is that ? " asked the Master ." I " was the answer .

" Oh I ! Either reduce it to zero or expand it to infinity ! "

retorted the Master from within .

This " I " in every individual should either be reduced to zero or expanded to infinity . Either way it is good .

In the one method , the modifications of the mind are restrained by a negative withdrawal of its operations from everything that appears as external .

The other method involves the philosophical visualisation of the mind's basic identity with all things .

The earlier method , namely , the restraint of the mind-stuff is the main instruction according to Patanjali .

~ Swami Krishnananda

|| VERSION 2 ||

There is a humorous anecdote in this connection . It appears , one of the disciples of Acharya Sankara came after bathing , but Sankara was inside the room and the door was bolted .

The disciple knocked at the door , whereon Sankara asked from inside ,

" Who is there ? " " I " was the answer .

" Oh , either expand it to infinity or reduce it to zero " , was the retort of Sankara from inside .

This " I " , either expanded to infinity or reduced to zero , is good . But it should not be left midway . The essential trouble with all human beings , the trouble with every created being , is this mid-positioning of the ego .

~ Swami Krishnananda

|| VERSION 3 ||

What is egoism ? The egoism is of three kinds .

According to Yoga Vasishtha , the three kinds of ahamkara are as follows .

" I am this body . " This is one kind of ahamkara ." I am nothing . " This is another kind of ahamkara ." I am everything . " This is a third kind of ahamkara .

The teacher of the Yoga Vasishtha tells us there is no harm if we feel that we are nothing .

There is also no harm if we feel that we are everything .

But if we feel that we are only something , then we are caught .

Sankaracharya was inside , and the disciple came and knocked at the door . Sankaracharya said ,

" Who is that ? "" I " , replied the disciple .

" Let it either expand to infinity or let it annihilate itself . "

This is what the Guru spoke from inside .

" I — Let it either expand itself to infinity , or let it annihilate itself . But let it not identify itself only with something . Either you are nothing or everything , but not something . "

These are the three kinds of ahamkara according to the Yoga Vasishtha .

~ Swami Krishnananda

The greater the force with which this separative sense is suppressed to Nothingness or expanded to Infinity , the more extensive and deeper is the light and the joy realised and experienced .

~ Swami Krishnananda

VASISTHA'S YOGA | SECTION IV | CHAPTER : 55 56 *

You may adopt one or the other of the two attitudes :

( 1 ) I am the omnipresent being that does nothing , and( 2 ) I am the doer of all actions in this world .

In both cases you will arrive at the same state of perfect equanimity , which is immortality .

You will be free from likes and dislikes , attraction and aversion .

You will be rid of foolish feelings like :

" Someone served me " , or " Someone else hurt me " .

Hence , you may feel , " I am not the doer , I do not exist " , or " I am the doer and I am everything " .

Or enquire into the nature of the self — " Who am I ? " — and realise " I am not any of this that is attributed to me " .

Rest established in the self which is the highest state of consciousness , in which the best among the holy ones who know of this state ever dwell .

VASISTHA'S YOGA | SECTION IV | CHAPTER : 55 56

Even if you believe that this world and yourself are real , then be it so ; rest firmly in your own self .

If you think that this is both real and unreal , then adopt the appropriate attitude to this changing world .

If you believe that the world is unreal , then be firmly established in the infinite consciousness .

VASISTHA'S YOGA | SECTION IV | CHAPTER 45

See that " all this is unreal , including myself " , and there will be no sorrow in you .

Or , see that " all this is real , including myself " , and sorrow will not touch you either .

" Hammer on ! hammer on ! " is the first principle of success . Without work you can never succeed . A lazy person is bound to perish in the " struggle for existence " , one cannot live , one must die .

Rise to the GOD-Consciousness to such a degree that for you your past relations may become a complete blank . . . Your relation to the world should become the relation of GOD to the world ; an entire change .

From one point of view , mind and intellect are not Brahman ; but on the other hand , mind and intellect are nothing else but Brahman , even the body is nothing else but Brahman , and Everything in the world is nothing else but Brahman .

Can you transfer your consciousness ? Put it here , your consciousness should sit here . Can it sit here ? Now it is inside your body . It is operating through the body and you are seeing through the aperture of your eyes and then perceiving a person like me here .

Immanuel Kant is said to have been woken up by Hume from " dogmatic slumber " and brought about a " Copernican revolution " in the field of philosophy . In Kant we begin to reap the ripe fruits of philosophy , for it is here that it shows signs of its having reached maturity and full development .

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PRABODHASUDHAKARA | THE NECTAR OCEAN OF ENLIGHTENMENT | PART 2 | DEVOTION | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA | TRANSLATION & BHASYA BY SAMVID | PSNOE SERIES || The devotional fervour which the author exhibits in the four concluding sections of this work would appear to be in sharp contrast with the author's relentless pursuit of truth through rational enquiry , found in the earlier sections .

I am composing the Atmabodha , or Self-Knowledge , to serve the needs of those who have been purified through the practice of austerities, and who are peaceful in heart , free from cravings , and desirous of Liberation .

One who has one's mind Self-absorbed through Yoga , and who has the vision of sameness everywhere , sees this Self existing in everything , and everything in one's Self . | One who sees Me in everything , and sees all things in Me — I do not go out of one's vision , and one also is not lost to My vision .

Some minds with too much self reliance in themselves , and without considering the true nature of things , give them different forms and colours , according to their own conceptions and opinions , though far from truth .

VOL 1 | BOOK II | CHAP XVII | VERSE 10 | ON THE CONTENTS OF THE WORK | IT CONTAINS SIX BOOKS all fraught with sentences full of reason , and each distinct from the other in its import . It has many verses containing chosen examples on all subjects .

DANGEROUS HABIT OF CONSTANT SELF JUSTIFICATION | To go on claiming this so-called freedom , which is no more than a subjection to certain ignorant cosmic forces , is to indulge in a blind contradiction and to claim the right to lead a double life

Imagination in the mind always exaggerates . Exaggeration is a modification of lie . Aspirants should not exaggerate . They should utter words with mathematical and scientific precision . An aspirant is asked to give up company and observe Mouna .

MahaBhava is a Divine Ecstasy . It shakes the body and mind to their very foundation . It is like a huge elephant entering a small hut . The house shakes to its foundation . Perhaps it falls to pieces .

Athato bhaktim vyakhyasyamah | 1. Now , therefore , we shall teach Bhakti , or the Religion of Divine Love . 2. Now , therefore , I will try to explain the process of devotional service . 3. Now , therefore , the doctrine of devotion we shall expound .

Rama has written in simple language , the ordinary thoughts and ideas that satisfy the mind and show the Divine Vision to the writer both within and without . The whole world shining like the diamond is becoming the Divine Ocean .

OM! In Humans , The Past exists only in memory , which is retention , replaying , reconfiguration of stories , fantasies , fiction ; The Future is expectation and fantasy : These thoughts play in The Present , creating a false sense of continuity of personality — Nothing but DREAMING it is .|| SSSV 32.3 ||